O’Neill’s Jacket-Trunks Hybrid

The latest creation from O’Neill Wetsuit Design Guru John Hunter is nuts. He’s brought the benefit of a longsleeve jacket and boardshorts together in his newest concoction, the C4.

It’s a boardshorts/longsleeve jacket combo designed to eliminate all sorts of surfing annoyances, from butt-crack exposure to traction-pad knee rash.

“We made it with the gooiest 1.5-mil rubber,” Hunter explains. “The top is snug-fitting and the bottoms are loose fitting like trunks.” [IMAGE 1]The savvy TransWorld SURF reader may have noticed Ratboy product testing the C4 on the cover of the July edition (those weren’t “overtrunks”). According to Hunter, Ratboy inspired the naming of the C4 — a plastic explosive — when he exclaimed, “It allows you to blow up, but not enough to blow you apart.”

Hunter outlined fourteen different benefits of the boardshorts-jacket hybrid. Topping the list was the crack-killing principles: “C4 eliminates the crack-in-the-back problem.” It’s a one-piece suit, so the top won’t ride and the bottoms won’t sag.

Along with eliminating plumber’s butt, the fully-connected suit is also sans thick velcro closures and bulky knots, which Hunter says makes for comforable paddling. There’s also no stitching along the inseams, which should considerably reduce inner-thigh rash.

The C4 may look unconventional — borderline weird — but it’s designed to be functional. Hunter, who surfs everyday — sometimes two or three or four times — says it’s all about being warm, comfortable, and staying in the water as long as possible. With an exterior pocket — big enough to fit a Capri Sun and a Power Bar — marathon, rash-free sessions are here.